Chains of the Heart
by P1Bres
Summary: Ren Amamiya had saved the world from the God of Control, but so much strength going unchecked afterwards? It could prove itself to be dangerous... As past Persona users were sure to find out.
1. Prologue: Flying High

Decided to crosspost this from Ao3 to here just bc? I'm excited for this fic lmao. Feeback and all that is nice and... Yeah!

* * *

From the first time Naoya Toudou saw Ren Amamiya, he could tell there was something wrong with the boy. It'd been about a year since the Christmas Incident, where people had been disappearing and dying thanks to some deity (as far as Naoya could tell, he and his friends had only been safe thanks to their Personas)... And he'd been on edge ever since.

Seeing this boy as he sat in Leblanc told him exactly why. Amon-Ra was uneasy as soon as he saw him and Naoya could tell why… Satanael, that was the name that came to mind as he stared at the boy… The terrifying aura reminded him of when Reiji had used the Persona Lucifer, only this time? This time it was _worse._

"Do you need something, sir?" Ren had smiled at him, head tilted to the side. "You've been staring at me since I walked in."

"Oh, was I?" He did his best to regain his composure. "Sorry, I was just staring off into space."

Ren's smile had shifted just slighty at that point and Naoya had felt his blood run cold. "Well, in case you ever decide you do want to stare in the future, I'm Ren Amamiya. You are?"

He hadn't wanted to give his real name, Amon-Ra's uneasiness pulling him away from it. "Yuuya Narumi, nice to meet you." Every word out of his mouth had been a lie and all he'd been able to do was hope Ren wouldn't catch on.

"Nice to meet you too… Well, I'll see you around, Narumi-san." He'd walked away, towards the stairs that Naoya had guessed lead into an attic at that point… So he lived in Leblanc?

Despite his love of the coffee and the fun chatter he made with Sojiro Sakura, Naoya decided then to never go back to the cafe.

* * *

Maya Amano felt sick to her stomach whenever she thought about her first meeting with Ren Amamiya. On the outside he seemed like a nice enough boy, sure, but… She knew that appearances didn't really mean shit.

She was supposed to meet with Toranosuke Yoshida, a man who had recently made great strides in recovering himself from a political disgrace years ago. After everything that happened with Tatsuzou Sudou and the New World Order she hadn't wanted anything to do with politics, but, well… She had to take what jobs she could get.

"I'm sorry, but Yoshida-san is too busy to talk with you today. I'm his assistant, Ren Amamiya… I'll be doing my best to answer any questions you have instead!" The boy had met her in the lobby with those words, a smile on his face.

A smile that made Maya feel like the Crawling Chaos himself was breathing down her neck.

"Oh really? Too bad, I was hoping to hear from the man himself!" She forced a smile on her face. "I guess you'll work, though! Hope you know enough about the inner workings of his success to answer these questions!"

"Oh, don't you worry, I know more than you might expect." Ren had offered her a hand and Artemis had screamed inside her to not take the hand…

She had taken it anyway. "What a gentleman you are."

Ren dipped his head down and kissed the back of her hand, she had to use all her willpower to not slap him. "I've been told that before, but I feel like everyone just likes to flatter me."

"Is that so…?"

Maya had kept that smile on her face for the rest of the interview, discomfort growing as she realized that he knew the inner workings of everything a little _too_ well for a college student… It hit a little too close to home and, well… If she could avoid coming to interview Yoshida in the future, she would.

* * *

Aigis was not sure how to feel about Ren Amamiya when Mitsuru introduced him as a new Reserve Member. He had looked nice enough, but the air around him sent her into a defensive state. In a strange way, it reminded her of when she had first seen Ryoji.

Only this time, there was no Makoto to protect and no link to a deity like Nyx. At least, she was fairly certain there was no link… Well, none past the fact he had apparently killed a deity in high school, with the help of his Persona.

He did something not even Elizabeth had been able to do at this point, a woman stronger than anyone else Aigis really knew… Just how dangerous was someone who could destroy Yaldabaoth so easily?

"Aigis-san, you haven't looked me in the eyes once since I got here… Is there an issue?" He tried to sound concerned, but Aigis could hear how fake it really was.

"I am not sure I trust someone with so much power…" She put a hand to her chest. "Even the stronger person I know- I knew… He was unable to destroy something like Yaldabaoth, only able to seal it away, at the cost of his life…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ren frowned, a hand on his hip.

Aigis looked him in the eyes for the first time, the usual emotion in her face gone. "Someone with so much power should be dead."

"You wound me, Aigis-san!" He put a hand on his own chest. "Maybe I'm just stronger than this guy."

Aigis said nothing, instead just staring at him for a few moments. She was more sure about how she felt now. There was something wrong with Ren Amamiya and she didn't trust him, not one bit.

She was ready to remove him if he proved himself a danger, though a voice in her heart seemed to cry out to her. _Please, be careful…_

* * *

Yu Narukami could feel another journey about to start when he ran into Ren Amamiya. He'd been through enough that it was pretty easy to tell at this point, honestly… And it was almost upsetting to see that the person giving him this feeling as a human, just like him… If he knew anything, that meant there was a deity behind the scenes.

He was worried about the boy when he realized that, honestly. Even if he ended up doing bad things, ended up showing himself to be a person with more issues than one would expect… He was worried. It was sure to leave him broken when all was said and done.

"Excuse me." He approached the younger man and held out his hand. "I'm Yu Narukami, it's nice to meet you."

Ren had rose an eyebrow, but taken the hand. "Ren Amamiya… Strange, most people just stare at me or wait until I approach them first."

"I've always been pretty personable, if I'm being honest with you." Yu gave him a smile. "I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing, of course, but…"

It had already begun to fall apart and Yu didn't know what to do. He'd honestly partially approached the man in hopes he could guide him away from the dark path he was making his way for… Was it just not possible to intercept it early?

Was he really destined to have to fight this man to save him?

"I see…" Ren pulled his hand away from Yu's and gave a fake smile. "Well, next time maybe you should try to have something prepared to say. Being able to talk to someone is important when you're personable, after all."

"Yeah, you're right… Sorry for just coming up like this." Yu rubbed the back of his head and frowned.

It really looked like he was going to have to fight him if he wanted to get anywhere in the end… Dammit.

* * *

Ren Amamiya felt like he was flying high and had felt like that for years now. Without the chains around his heart, he felt like he could do anything, get anywhere… And nothing like silly societal rules could stop him.

Sure, he'd kind of run into a few issues (and by issues, he'd meant adults and a damn robot that seemed to know something was up with him), but… There wasn't really an issue. Not really… None of them seemed like they could stand up to him.

"This'll be easy…" He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "It's just a matter of time, now…"

He had his friends and confidants now, it was only a matter of time before he took the world by storm. There was nothing holding him back and he was going to make it to the top. He'd just have to be ready to take down any corruption getting in his way.

And oh, was he ready.


	2. Chapter 1: Good Old Days

Second chapter? First actual chapter. This one is Naoya's POV and sets up a few special treats for later in the fic ;p Also helps set up a move into Ch.2, so! That's fun. Also, thanks for all the comments! I can't easily reply to them on Ao3 so I'll answer any questions asked at the end of the next posted chapter sorta deal!

* * *

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Reiji?"

"Yeah…"

"How's Takashi been?"

"He's been fine, doing good in school…"

"That's good… But Reiji, uh… Is everything okay?"

The already quiet Crossroad's Bar got quieter at that point. Reiji was nursing his first drink still, a frown on his face. Naoya was on his third and, well, curious about what was up. Reiji wasn't the best with small talk and they'd already been waiting for Maki for about an hour… So anything would work.

"I've been hearing a lot of rumors lately." Reiji finally spoke up, still staring at his glass. "About some missing detective being spotted and…"

"And…?"

"Rumors about Kandori being around."

Naoya frowned and sat back at the words. Usually he'd try and tell his friend it wasn't something to worry about, the two of them looked similar, after all, but… He remembered hearing about everything in Sumaru City - including the whole Kandori coming back to life via rumors thing. After that happened he couldn't blame Reiji for being worried.

"Oh yeah, last time that happened he ended up showing up, right?" Naoya took a sip of his drink and looked away. "That's…"

"Reiji, Naoya!" Maki's voice cut Naoya off as she appeared in the doorway of the back room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long, but… I brought someone along."

"Oh?" Naoya rose an eyebrow and placed a hand on Reiji's shoulder to try and reassure him without words, seeing as Maki joining them was sure to shift the conversation. "Who's that?"

"Come on…" Maki reached out a hand and tugged on the mystery person. "You said you were stressed! Friendly talk with friends'll help you!"

"Fine, fine…" At that point, Kei came into view and damn if he hadn't seen better days. The bags under his eyes and the paleness of his face told Naoya he probably hadn't slept well in a week or more. Yikes…

"Nanjo…" Reiji gave him a small nod and finally downed the rest of his first drink. Looked like more people around was all he needed to get to the drinking. "Sit down… I'll go ask Lala-chan for more drinks."

Without another word, Reiji slid out of his seat next to Naoya and walked towards the actual bar. Maki and Kei took no time sitting in the booth, leaving Reiji's previous spot open. Naoya was pretty sure that wasn't what Reiji wanted, but oh well. He could deal with it, right?

"Something seems up with Reiji…" Maki stared out the doorway with a frown. "Is he okay?"

"Rumors are getting to him right now, I-I'm sure he'll be fine." Naoya gave Maki a smile and counted his blessings that he wasn't so… Obvious when he was upset. "What about you, Nanjo? What's been getting you so stressed?"

Kei frowned and crossed his arms. "It seems Kirijo is finding more and more things to be worried about here in Tokyo. It's been five years since the Christmas Incident happened and she's just now worried there's still after effects from it."

"Can you blame her, though? From what you've said her Persona doesn't seem to be as sensitive to things going wrong…" Maki trailed off with a frown. "I wish she'd made a move sooner, though. Nothing's felt quite right for the last five years…"

"I don't think anything's felt right for anybody for the past five years, it's just more acute for people like us." Naoya stared down into his glass before taking a swig of it. "Everyone seems off kilter…"

"Yes, well… It seems other Persona users are finally opening their eyes to the issue." Kei ran a hand down his face. "But it seems they'll need more help than expected. I'll have to see what I can provide."

"Oh yeah?" Naoya smiled as Reiji finally walked back, putting four glasses on the table. "Hey, Reiji, how would you feel about having to use your Personas again?"

"What?" He frowned as Naoya stood up and pushed him back into the booth. "Where the hell'd that come from?"

"Things might be going wrong in Tokyo and Kei might need some help!" Maki gave him a small smile. "I'm sure you've been able to feel that something's been weird for the past few years…"

"That so?" Reiji took his second glass and frowned. "I mean… Mot might be useful for things other than scaring the fuck out of potential clients in that case."

"We're in our forties and you still can't control the aura your Persona gives off?" Kei sighed and shook his head.

"Maybe Reiji's aura is just stronger?" Maki shrugged. "I mean… Mot was pretty scary from what I remember."

"I just wish it'd stop… Maybe I should go to the Velvet Room and turn in this damn Persona…" Reiji frowned and shook his head. "No, that's not gonna work either… Most of my Personas are freaky."

"That was always kinda worrying about you, to be honest…" Naoya sighed and shook his head. "Your Personas are scary or assholes or both."

"If you ever need to talk, Reiji…" Maki smiled at him. "I can make some time."

"I don't know if I want to thank you guys or punch you…" Reiji shook his head and leaned back, downing his drink in one go. "Maybe I should just drink more instead."

"We have some important things to talk about right now, so try to at least stay sober."

Reiji frowned at Kei. "I have a high alcohol tolerance."

"Do you now?" Kei rose an eyebrow.

"He does, and if he gets a little too drunk I'll make sure he gets home." Naoya smiled at Kei. "So there's no problem."

"...If you say so." Kei sighed and sipped at the drink Reiji had gotten for him. "For now I suppose we should discuss who all we should contact."

"Everyone from high school, for sure! It's gonna be rough, so might as well have everyone from the good old days around, right?" Maki gave a nod as she spoke. "Maybe Amano-san and her group, too? They were helpful when Kandori showed up last time…"

"That's like… A good amount of people to help out, right? Kirijo-san probably has plenty of people she'll be contacting too." Naoya hoped she did, at least.

"She said she has a list, yes. She just wasn't sure everyone would be willing or able to come assist…" Kei tapped a finger against the table. "However, She didn't seem sure on everyone being able to assist."

"That's no good…" Maki shook her head and sighed. "But I guess there's not much we can do if her group can't all show."

"All we can do it make sure all of our group shows, huh?" Naoya gave an awkward laugh. "Show them how it's done, or something like that."

"That does seem like our best bet…" Kei looked over at the other three. "I hope I can rely on you three to help me in contacting the others?"

"Anything to help. I think I could contact Masao and Eriko, at least!" Maki gave a small nod and giggle.

"I can get in contact with Ayase and Brown." Naoya would've offered to do more if it wasn't for the fact he wanted to give Reiji a chance to join in on being helpful.

"And I guess I'll contact Yukino…?" Reiji rubbed his chin. "And I guess Amano is probably with her, so…"

"And I'll make sure to get in contact with the others from the Sumaru City incident, seeing as last I heard Miss Amano isn't in contact with all of them anymore…"

"Well, at least you have those rich guy connections to help you out." Reiji sighed and looked into his empty cup. "Rich guys and their connections…"

"Is there a problem, Reiji?" Kei frowned, an eyebrow raised.

"Just not a fan of rich people… Can you blame me?" Reiji's eyes were still staring into his empty glass. "I have bad luck with them."

Silence fell over the quartet for a moment. It looked like any pleasant mood had sort of fallen into nothingness. It wasn't hard for one depressing comment to pull down the mood, huh? Was this going to be salvagble.

"Hey, how about we don't worry about it anymore for now?" Naoya pat Reiji's back and shot the other two a grin. "We can contact everyone else tomorrow! For now we should focus on drinking and catching up with each other."

"Naoya's right!" Maki put one hand on each of the men next to her's shoulders and smiled. "It's rare we get to get together and we should try and enjoy it!"

"As much as we can with this odd feeling we've all been having…" Kei sighed. "Alright then, let's try to enjoy the night."

Reiji reached for a drink, ignoring Naoya's complaints about it having been meant for him. "I'll drink to that."

* * *

 **Where's Tatsuya?** Around, but due to the nature of EP's ending, he doesn't really remember all the Persona stuff. Any appearance he has will not be as a protagonist.

 **Can Ren eliminate Erebus or Nyx ?** Honestly? I'm not sure. I feel Nyx is too deeply connected to humanity - like Philemon and Nyarly - to ever be destroyed (plus she's, well, not actually evil). Erebus is harder, but I feel the unconscious desire for death runs deeper than the wish for control Yaldy was working off (if I'm remembering Yaldy totally right)? So I'm really not sure, but leaning towards 'No, not permanently' for both.

 **Ren will be a villain ?** Well, he's certainly an antagonist, but I wouldn't say he's really a villain? There's more going on that it seems ;p

Also, as a note... Ages for the protags in this, just so everyone knows? Yeah  
Naoya - 42, Maya - 45, Aigis - 21, Yu - 27, Ren - 21

Tatsuya hasn't appeared and likely won't play as big a role as stated above, but he'd be about 40


	3. Chapter 2: Think Positive!

Another chapter, this one is focused on Maya, who is honestly probably my favorite female protag as far as Persona goes (even if I love them all). Also some Yukino and Ulala... And a little more Reiji.

Warning from this point on: There may be a few sexual jokes and the like but? I didn't feel at this point that an upped rating is needed? Since this is pretty mild stuff overall. If someone disagrees with that, lemme know. More notes at the end of the chapter and all that.

* * *

"It's been a while since we've had the chance to work together, Yukki!" Maya flashed the photographer an excited grin. "It'll be nice to focus on a story with a friend around!"

"Yeah? From what I've heard these past couple of weeks, things have been hard for you the past few years…" Yukino frowned, concern clear on her face. "Was the transfer that hard for you, Maya?"

"I wouldn't say it was the transfer, so much as my first job…" Maya frowned, looking at her shoes. "I guess politicians and I just don't mix."

"Maya…" Yukino put a hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Well, that's alright. At least this new job has nothing to do with that, right? We just have to go interview a model, Ann Takamaki, was it?"

"Yeah, you're right. I should just try and think positive!" She pumped her fist in the air and gave Yukino a grin. "I can't let one bad experience bother me forever, right?"

Yukino gave her a smile in return. "Right."

That was right, even if that Ren kid had brought up bad memories for her, she needed to try and stay positive. Maybe she'd just caught him on a bad day! Or maybe he was a harmless slimeball, not someone she'd want to talk to but also not someone to worry about… Maybe she'd just been on edge from her move and that's why Nyarlathotep had come to mind.

"Well come on now, we don't wanna be late." Yukino gave Maya a small push they started walking.

Maya gave a laugh a small laugh as they walked along. This was really what she needed! Just to rationalize what had happened and move on. Maybe she would ask Yukino if she was free to go to a movie or something when they were done with this. That might be-

"Ma-ya!" Ulala's voice broke through her thoughts and she had to pause. She hadn't expected her friend to be here today…

"Ulala!" She ran up to her as soon as she was in sight. "What's going on? I still have an interview to get to, so if you need me for something it might have to wait…"

"Oh, I'm not the one who wants to talk to you… You remember that one hunk from when we were helping out Nanjo-kun? The one who was all wild and stuff?" Ulala chuckled a bit. "He was asking about you and Yukino-san in particular… I'm almost jealous."

"Ulala…" Maya let out a sigh, but smiled at her. "Alright, take us to him."

Ulala turned on her heel and started walking. "He's right over here!" In no time, they were in front of Reiji, Ulala pointing right at him.

"Thanks for getting them, uh…" Reiji rubbed the back of his head. "If you could stick around, though, that'd be nice."

Ulala seemed like she wanted to say something when Yukino's face scrunched in confusion. "Wait… Reiji's the hunk? I don't get it… He's got a pretty harsh face, don't you think? Besides, he's a dad and…"

"Hey now! He might be a dad, but there's a reason the term DILF exists." Ulala put a hand on her hip and frowned.

"DILF…?" Reiji furrowed his brow and looked to Maya. "I know what a hunk is, but… I feel I'm out of the loop with the DILF thing."

"Dad I'd like to fuck… I think." Maya gave him a sorry smile. "I doubt you wanted to hear that from someone…"

Reiji sputtered a bit, his face going pink with embarrassment. "I-I… Uh…."

"There, there…" Maya sighed and pat Reiji's arm. "She's not going to try anything, at least not seriously!"

"...If you say so…" Reiji cleared his throat, getting Ulala and Yukino's attention again. "I need to talk to you guys about something for Nanjo."

"Nanjo-kun?" Ulala rose an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "What does he need from us."

"I'm sure Yukino's the only one who's heard of him talk about the Kirijo Group before, but… They're basically business partners. Only… It goes further than business. Things relating to Personas? And… I think they call them Shadows now? Yeah, they deal with that too."

"Doesn't that Mitsuru Kirijo person have some sort of Shadow Operatives thing with the government?" Yukino crossed her arms and frowned. "Last I heard you joined as a reserve member."

"Yeah, I am, but I haven't really been called on yet." Reiji shook his head. "Hell, the one time they should've and it's Nanjo who's telling me what's up and asking me to get in contact with others."

"Are you saying Nanjo-kun is the reason you're here today?" Maya frowned and the uneasy feeling that had bothered her since she'd met Ren Amamiya came back. "Did something happen?"

"Kirijo wants to look into the weird atmosphere Tokyo's had for the last five years, finally." Reiji stuck his hands in his pocket and looked around. "Nanjo's trying to get more people to help out with it all… I had to find Yukino and Amano."

"I guess I was just a lucky bonus, then?" Ulala rose an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's a good way to put. Nanjo was gonna try and get in contact with you, but I ran into you, so… Why not catch you up to speed too?" He sighed. "Anyway, I'm basically here to tell you to call Nanjo if you're interested in helping out. It's apparently going to be a big deal, so the more hands to help out the better."

"Got it… Just one question." Yukino crossed her arms. "Besides you and Nanjo, who else for sure knows and is planning on lending a hand?"

"Naoya and Maki. Masao'll probably come along as soon as Maki asks him and Eriko's not gonna pass up this opportunity… I'm not as sure about Ayase or Hidehiko, but…" Reiji shrugged. "I'm sure most, if not everyone, is gonna get involved."

"...And I'm guessing Nanjo-kun was gonna contact the other two, too?" Ulala looked at Maya with a frown. "Is that gonna be okay…?"

"Don't worry, Ulala! Katsuya-san might be there, but I'm sure he'll do what he can to keep Tatsuya-kun out of it, so…" Maya gave the strongest smile she could give, though it was far from her strongest. "There's nothing to worry about there!"

"Ma-ya…" Ulala frowned, but turned her attention to Reiji. "I'm not sure Ma-ya or I have Nanjo-kun's number… Want to give it to us? I think we should talk about it more before we make a call."

"Huh, sure…" Reiji pulled out his phone and pulled up Kei's contact, leaning towards Maya so she could input it in her phone.

Maya scrambled to grab her own phone and smiled at him. "Thank you, Kido-kun! I'll share it with Ulala, since I'm sure you're still a little embarrassed."

Reiji's cheeks went pink again and he grimaced. "Please don't remind me, Amano…"

"Sorry!" Maya pat his arm again after she finished copying what she needed. "But I'll contact Nanjo-kun if I think I can help out."

"Thanks." Reiji gave a small nod and slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Well, I have to get going… Work and stuff."

"Yukki and I should probably get going too, actually…" Maya gave a laugh and pat him on the back. "So we can walk you out, Kido-kun!"

"Yeah, besides… I have a few questions about Naoya and Maki, if you saw them." Yukino moved to stand next to them. "I'll make sure Maya sends you the number later, okay Ulala-san?"

"Sounds good to me…" Ulala let out a sigh. "Just don't go getting too friendly right before you have an interview, Ma-ya."

Maya looked back at Ulala with a grin. "Don't worry! I won't!"

* * *

I figured I should plop this down, finally...

P1 - SQQ had Elly and Brown as the optional party members, SEBEC Route had Reiji as the optional party member. SQQ happened first.  
P2 - Nanjo's route taken in EP  
P3 - Male Protagonist Route, Chidori is dead, The Answer takes place afterwards (There's so little mention of P3's protag, however that you can feel free to replace pronouns as you read if you prefer FeMC)  
Arena - A mixture of Yosuke's, Aigis's, and Teddie's routes take place. Elizabeth and Labrys's stories also happen.

Also: a comment about Erebus and Nyx was left for those curious. I'm not sure I fully agree, seeing as I felt Yaldy was def more focused on Tokyo than any other place? But still, interesting stuff in that comment.


End file.
